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You are missing the point. It isn't that they don't believe in what I do. It is that they aren't serious. There are a few Black Astrologers I would work with, and that few of they also agree that a lot of folks aren't serious about the craft. Troy and Mel have their own thing going on. You may have forgotten that I asked a friend about some legal advice on behalf of Troy. Some of what you post sounds illogical to me. Like Mel Troy and myself fixing Black America. That's not a strategy or a plan, it is actually a wish. What your talking about requires a plan, money, time location et cetera. And while in theory it is a good idea it is not practical. Although it is a nice compliment. Perhaps I am being to harsh and personal in my criticism of your ideas.

@Pioneer1 , I'm believer in the power of "AND" ... meaning do both and have two-winning hands. But an economic plan is more than commercial enterprise . Since, I tend to be a doer not a talker, first I have to ask, "Have you ever worked an economic development program?" Have you even been on a steering committee? Prior to launching a full blown economic development plan - you have to know where you're going and how you're going to get there - it begins with a feasibility study. I have worked for an NGO that was charged with economic development for a city of 35,000 people. The town had a failing economy. It had cut off its source to economic growth. The National Park Service through the government gave us a multi-million dollar contract to revive the area and help spur its economy. The thing is they had federal, state and city support and agreement. They had land, access to the Ohio river, a port and their area had been named by the federal government a heritage corridor and with that designation came a pile of money to use to achieve our goals. My supervisor was a former deputy mayor of New York City - and with him at the helm and me his second in command we accomplished our initial goal before I left the organization. The project took about 10 years from start to finish. At last check, the town is still hemorrhaging population but it seems to be contributing to the national economy which is the overarching goal. Black America has always created commercial enterprises. When were brought here it was black people who created the textile and agriculture industry. We didn't just supply free labor - we created the enterprise...just didn't get the money, the freedom or fame. If you think of an industry from the 1400s until the present, if black people didn't create it they were very much involved. Even today, if you think black people aren't at the top of technology game think again. They're not getting the publicity. Meet my friend I call him daBrain, owner of more than 40 patents related to wireless LAN and chip design. Also, in the late 70s, rap was commercial enterprise created by Black people for Black people. Before it was snatched up by major labels, Black people controlled the music recording studios, music production, music distribution, film production, stage shows, models, actors/actresses, fashion and clothing (dapper dan comes to mind) , the videos, (New York City created laws to contain where black production could film their rap videos). There were even music shows that aired on local television and even radio stations that had their own advertisements. Social movement came out of the rap movement and it even created political leaders. The rap economy, however, was limited first to the East Coast - then West... then the South. Once organized crime got a hold of the enterprise it was absorbed into corporate america. Black America can have their own economic plan but if there's going to be any type of economic development for a group of people that aren't centrally located a plan would be a start but it will take money and time to execute. Even with a plan, unfortunately, groups of people will still be left behind. Which is why "being prepared" is key.

So I only want to initially work with a select group of people. I am member of several astrological groups on Facebook. Which in total have several thousand members. There are three that are predominantly indigenous/black. Out of that there are about maybe ten Astrologers that are either knowledgeable or are serous about their craft. I probably spebd a minimum of 100 hours a year on my craft. Although there have been months where i have spent a minimum of 2 - 5 hours a day on my craft. Which means i am not going ti work with people that don't have that type of dedication. I am willing to bet you Pioneer that i have or will have read someone from one of my cities you lived in. I hope you and like minded brethren have success with your approach. While I tend ti my "garden" Some people may dream of wanting more but they don't act that way. When I was at U Mass Boston. The Boston Blacks said the Haitians and the Africans didn't interact with them. Which was interesting because i hung with the Nigerians and was seeing a Nigerian princess. So i asked a Haitian. He said he came across the world to get an education and the Boston blacks seemed to being missing something. He didn't know what it was but he didn't want to catch it. Successful people surround themselves with succesful or at least driven people. In closing i work with people who can think have drive or have a big heart. But they have ro be motivated by their vision to effect a change and invest in themselves rather than a dope pair of kicks.

Now to answer the question. My sister said i need to prepare my children for the world you have aptly described Mel. My answer was I am teaching them ti think critically. Learning the curriculum is learning tactics. However without the ability to think, you will be a pawn. I know tactics without strategy is dead. My favorite scientist is Richard Feynmann. He was wasn't the smartest scientist in a room but he was the most clever. Plus he was fun anvery flexible mentally because he had a different toolset. I will address my concept of an approach for success. For the deviants, outliers, dreamers and oddballs. Since they are the true leaders. Learn the basics of what everyone else learns. In addition follow one passion and have a creative expression. Einstein played the violin, Feynmann played the bongos and went to strip clubs, and Newtown was into alchemical experiments. We are approaching , we are in a time where the okd rules hold less sway. Which means the ascendancy of visionaries, non linear or freethinkers. I encourage my children to think for themselves and not to accept anyone's opinions with giving it thought. So when i see my kids, they want to play word games, test their spelling. In addition I encourage them to respect the choices if other people, especially when it is counter to theirs. Because their mother is an artist. They are immersed in art, dance and sport. However I can't take credit for that.

ok here's the rest of the story. About a week before the election (2016) I was washing dishes, looking out onto the back porch. I happened to glance at my grill cover, and in it - I saw the outline of 45* 's hair and face in silhouette. I looked closer, then looked away hoping it would disappear. It didn't. I didn't want to tell anyone to look in the direction because I feared they would confirm what I was seeing. I didn't want to acknowledge it at the time and I didn't want to believe it - but I knew it was an omen. I knew then he would win the election - even though he shouldn't have. So that's the reason I stopped second-guessing myself. I can't explain it - I just know Intuition (Quantum Intuition) is real. Now I wish I would have said something - Observer Effects states once you look at the future -it changes. I'd think it's more like - once you acknowledge the future, it changes.

33% of white America compared to 23% of black America has a post-secondary academic degree according to U.S. Census and National Center of Education Statistics. Therefore, a strong argument would be the majority of America is not interested in education...except books sales don't support that argument. We can get our books from so many different outlets now that some bookstores selling traditional ways are going to take a hit. But assigning behavioral traits to a group of people and attributing it to the demise of black booksellers is irrational. It's like saying people are no longer interested in wearing clothes so that's why Macy's had to close 100 of its stores. Btw, I still believe that book stores have to become inventive to get us back into the stores.

Predictive analytics, Blockchain, Big data AI and Machine learning Word on the street is if you don't know what these terms mean, let alone have them in your bag of tricks (skill set) you're career path has ended and you're now obsolete. Since 2008 and maybe before businesses are "relying heavily on data analytics". These businesses are doing more with less employees and if our current and future generations want to be gainfully employed they will need to know how harness data crunching technology. We keep hearing future jobs will be done by robots - well that future is now... What do you say, my psychic brother, @Delano ? You're our resident statistics and numbers man. How should this generation prepare?

@Cynique, I agree with a most of what you've written except this part. Your voice is the one that was most effective on those steering committees. From working on economic development projects in the past, it was the naysayers who brought the reality to table. The cockeyed optimists weren't blind-sided when the obstacles made an appearance and we were ready to handle them. But it does take money, resources and a lot of time to create and execute an economic plan... I'm not sure why Pioneer thinks we have the time or even the desire to work on a project of that magnitude. And it would only be a system within the system - there's one man who's been trying to create a new economy since 1940s and the powers that be have taken his altruistic idea and created a sharing economy - where one group gets all the money and everyone else gets scraps... So no, I'm good with working with the system we have.

It is impossible for humans to analyze the unimaginably large volumes of data being produced. You need programmers and engineers to design the hardware and software to make sense of it all. One of the first things that struck me when I first started working on Wall Street was that they did not make a single tangible product, yet great fortunes were being generated (for a relatively few number of people). Working for defense contractors like GE, United Technologies, and Grumman, you saw the output whether is was a satellite, a jet engine or an aircraft it made sense. Wall Street initially did not make sense to me. Indeed I could not even envision making money in a manner that they did, so looking for a job in the field never occurred to me. Wall Street makes money through schemes that don't actually ad value to society. Sure they say they do, but they really don't. They have consipred with the government to extract as much wealth as possible from the public while virtually eliminating all risk: initiate a collapse of the global financial markets not problem, here is damn near a trillion dollars to start all over again. This Obama hiring so many folks from Wall Street was disappointing to me, but it should not have been surprising given how much money they put into his campaign. Of course 45 following suit comes as no surprise despite all his bluster to the contrary during his campaign. Bernie Madoff got away so long with his ponzi scheme because he was not really doing anything very different from what Wall Street does no a daily basis... I don't believe in the Capitalist system, at least not the way it is practiced in the United States. It is too easy to pervert and corrupt. It is inherently exploitative and the application of rules are unfair and biased--particularly as it concerns poor people--especially the brown ones. It is a rigged game. I think the most successful people in this system are the ones most willing to exploit others. Whether it was enslaving Black people for a few hundred years, imprisoning them and having the work for Walmart, or paying slave wages. If I run a store and don't; have inmates making my products; pay people slave wages, in some 3rd world country; and don't benefit from government tax incentives how to do I compete with Walmart? We are all led to believe we just have to be creative, think smarter, or work harder. But again the fix is in and there is really nothing you can do. I try to get folks to work together behind the scenes, but while the results are better than working alone the results are constrained and will never benefit more than a few people. Sure most businesses fail after a few years and many of them needed to fail because they were poorly conceived or executed. But i suspect many business were put out of business because our capitalist system is broken. Meanwhile the US has been hit by the strongest storm or record, only to followed by an even stronger storm this weekend! Cynique, "winter is coming" is a perfect metaphor for our current predicament. We have an impending disaster known as climate change that will effect all of us, but too many people believe it is myth, meanwhile we are all preoccupied fighting over shit that won't ultimately matter in the end. Game of Thrones was great huh?

Native Americans are still considered the "Noble Savage" and white people are proud to have Indian blood in the veins. ( Not so, with having black blood, however. ) Every black person i know, including myself, claims to have indian blood in them. Native American culture just seems to fascinate everybody, with the feathered headdresses, beaded buckskin garb, painted faces and Pow-Wows where the peace pipe is smoked. Their riding horses bareback and shooting bows and arrows and doing rain dances. i appreciate that they are a very spiritual people, close to the earth and that - sometimes they beat John Wayne and the cavalry. i and many others who attended the University of Illinois were sad that political correctness robbed us of Chief Illiniwek, our sports mascot, whose war dance during half-time shows at football games was as anticipated as the final scores. This was an authentic dance passed down for generations and was taught to the Eagle scouts who were the ones to compete for the honor of being Chief Illiniwek, a proud figure who was never caricatured, but honored and respected. Illinois hasn't been a force in the Big Ten since the chief was banished. The PC crowd tried to do the same thing with the Florida State's Seminole mascot, but the Seminoles told them to go f..k themselves, and that they were proud to be the mascot of a great foot ball team. According to archaeologists, land masses that later broke apart, provided direct access to the Americas and permitted people from other continents to migrate by foot here. The Eskimos got trapped in Alaska when it broke off from the continent but they are the same species of those who did reach the America to become its native people. There are black Mexicans who little is known about but they are there and are discriminated against and considered second class citizens. The same as black Koreans about whom little is known because they are also a well-kept "secret". I have read about these black people as well as talked to tourists who have seen them in these countries. Po ol black folks just caint catch a break.

@Pioneer1Your assumption that this America-born Armenian has an "accent" is just an example of your flawed perspective as is the ambiguous false equivalent example you gave erroneously comparing your specific adjective "Japanese" nationality to my use of the unspecific noun of "Arab" which has no nationality. My calling an Armenian an Arab is not the same as calling a "non Chinese Asian" a Japanese", which is what you claim. A "Korean' is a non-Chinese of Asian descent but calling a Korean a "Japanese" is not the equivalent of calling an Armenian an Arab because Arab is a generic term and Japanese is a specific nationality. i can only take your word for how indignant Armenians are about being commonly mistaken for Arabs. Your whole premise about Serena and her fiance is based on what all of your premises are based on: "Pioneer's Law of opinion representing fact" . The assumption that an attractive, talented, smart, rich woman will be taken advantage of by an attractive, talented, smart rich man is baseless . First of all, as I previously mentioned, if these 2 do decide to get married, - and the may not, there's no way there wouldn't be a pre-nup. But I'm not surprised that these specifics elude you and that you stand by your belief. That's the protocol in the private little world you inhabit. Another example of your mind-set is how you always incorrectly spell a common word like "definitely" by spelling it "definately". Just now, you spelled a common word like "explanation", as "explaination". (These are not typos because you do this all the time.)That the correct spelling of these words which are regularly encountered in reading matter doesn't register with you, says something about your powers of observation. Or maybe you figure yours is the black way of spelling them, and blacks should adopt their own spelling and reject standard English. Whatever.

Pioneer if Black people can't survive this system. How do you think we can create a new one when there's no concept of a collective. There's the bourgeoisie, skin colour, hair texture, coastal, sexaulity, attractiveness, country vs city, street vs school. Yet those differences matter little when it comes to discrimination. Pioneer i have heard you discriminate against black people that are different than you. A house divided baby. And you running around with a chainsaw and a whip. To get them soft homeosexual men in line. Yeah man I am not keen on giving up one oppression for another. Holla Black Blacks are under the eight. It's like always some Blacks will do well. Denmark Vesey was free and his wife was a slave. Or am I mistaken.

The universe is a frequency. And i read the universal mind through numbers and symbols. It's my stock and trade.

i assure you, Pioneer, i wouldn't waste my time trying to deceive you. I am, who i am. i think you are suffering from delusions.

@Pioneer1"Arab" is as a generic term in its present use, applied to describe a breed of semites different from Jews, many of whom are Muslims. in any case Armenians are a minority ethnic group in America. As for Iranians, if one of these swarthy dudes is aboard a commercial plane, you can bet many passengers will be nervous about him possibly being a terrorist. i totally dismiss the "point" you are trying to make about Serena Williams and her fiancee. You are, in effect, saying that this black woman is not lovable or attractive; just rich. i'll refrain from arguing about the absurdity of this assumption. SMH.

Pioneer in your own words. I ain't black enough. I don't have patience for nonsense. So there's only a few people that can work with me. Even though Troy and I have major disagreements I would work with him because I respect his ability. He was a gymnast and body builders. I could work with she would be a combination of fun and serious. I could work with Cynique she is he only one of two people i have spoken with the I can't fault their logic. In addition they have been able to be successful in the wider world. I don't know but i feel that they have kept the center and didn't feel like victims while being fully aware of the obstacles that their race ir sex created. Pioneer you doubt my ability because it is western. Yet a Vedic palmist, aVedic astrologer, an Italian Astrologer and thousands of clients and known several well known and knowledgeable Astrologers respect my ability and research. Perhaps you are indicative of other black that can't see another black person as an expert. I can neither partake nor condone Black Whinerys. So i am coloborating with non Black occultist since Black people have either nit taken my scholarship seriously or they don't put in the time. Which means I can't take them seriously. Business is really like minded or focused people assisting each other in creating wealth.

@Mel Hopkins, I visited two successful Black owned bookstores this year. One in Oakland (Marcus Books) and the other in Sacramento (Underground Books). (FYI: this is based upon outward appearances, I have not looked at either store's financials). I previously visited Eso Won in Los Angeles They are simply bookstores, no cappuccino machines, no tables filled with people using free WiFi, no Shea butter--just books. All are iconic institutions in their communities and surrounding area. I point this out to say is that I don't think you have to be all that inventive to have a viable bookstore. I think our biggest weakness is that Black people probably buy a higher percentage of books from Amazon than any other group. I don't have data to support this but I'm just seeing Amazon grow increasingly stronger while and places that sell Black book are drying up. Speaking of Amazon a future advertiser on my site, just today told me that they could not run an ad on my site unless I only provided the book for sale via Amazon! I could not believe it but the author provided documentation to the effect. Of course I accommodated the request. We actually don't not have that many options to buy books, certainly not as many as we used to have, as evidenced the dearth of Black owned independent brick and mortar and web based bookstores; the closure of Borders; and the contraction of B&N. Even Walmart and Target don't carry as many Black books as they used to... The first physical Amazon book store I visited in NYC did not have very many book written by Black people (I looked hard trust me). Amazon's store actually does do something "inventive" you check prices and buy the books on your cell phone. The data they collect is just amazing--how longer you were in the store, what book interested you enough to check the price, etc. I agree 100% with everything else you wrote. Daren thanks for joining us. Please create an account so that I don't have to approve your comments. Also make sure you share information about your book too!

What's interesting is that analysts focus on retrieving the data but aren't as strong in analysing that data. Although that is an outside perspective. Unless there are going to be universal payments we may see the rise of system disintegrators. I think that critical and stratehic thinking has always been in fashion. I have spent about 36 of my 52 years exploring researching and applying esoteric and occult practices. I think there's ages. the age of force. Manpower and horse power predominate. The age of tools to leverage your force. Then yiu have toils of rhe mind mathematics and computers. At every stage the individual can maximum their force whike also minimizing the importance of the individual. The next age i believe will be if imagination/creative thinking/intuituon. Since problem solving will require more sociological and emotional intelligence than technological know how. I could be just blowing my own horn. Ask me every year on December 1, until 2024. That is analysis and a time prediction. I hope my answer leads to both provocation and invocation.

i would b interested in some of you telling me what you disagreed with in my post. Seems to me that when all of the "mansplaining" smoke is cleared, you're all reaching the same conclusion i did. But because we couched these conclusions in different semantics, the take-away is different. But the basic message is that, like it or not, tribes of the nation have been forced into playing different roles, and this is determined by the tribe which has the greatest ability to oppress and prevail. You guys, to me, are the ones brainwashed. You actually think the American dream applies to people of color. It doesn't. If it did, you wouldn't be stuck in the rut of describing and lamenting about what black folks need to do to break the glass ceiling. Talk is cheap. In addition to talking about commerce and economics, admit that one thing black people need to do is to stop all of the indiscriminate breeding that populates the underclasses with generations of fatherless children doomed to repeat the mistakes of their single parents. The odds of this happening are about the same as as ones for the black tribe to achieve true unity. The truth hurts. However, if what i regard as the truth will, after all these years, be proven false, i really won't mind. Settling into my cave, stocking up on nuts and berries. Winter is coming...

@Delano To organize with my brothers and sisters and create a power base. Control Black businesses and promote group economics.

Except @Troy, it's happening now - did you forget the story about big data and 45*s election win? That's not even where it begins or ends. This is why I've asked are we being left behind again. - And you, the second most geekiest person I know when it comes to statistics - and you blow off my question with a sentence. As if I'm speaking about some sci-fi future shock. Predictive analytics and modeling are being used at corporations determining how long you should spend on hold - to whether you'll get that loan - to whether you will donate to a worthy cause and how much you'll spend. Programs ARE making it "possible for humans to analyze the unimaginably large volumes of data being produced." Like you wrote, no human could pour through the all that data but computers can and are doing it Humans need not apply! So those "exponentially fast-growing companies that leverage technology and require less employees but those who are tech-savvy" are way ahead of us ...AGAIN

Program trading starting coming in the the late 1980 when I worked on Wall Street. Its also not economically viable to automate jobs out if existence. So we may end up with a few data jockeys, hackers, waiters, nurses, barrista, drug dealers, thieves and prostitutes.